Embodiments herein generally relate to electrostatic printers and copiers or reproduction machines, and more particularly, concerns a campaign management system and method for managing direct mail jobs.
During 2007 marketers in the U.S. spent total of $55.3 billion in direct mail, driving $686.7 billion in sales. By 2012, it is anticipated that American business will spend $61.7 billion on direct mail. In comparison $1.2 billion will be spent on e-mail marketing and $39.7 billion will be spent on Internet (non-e-mail) marketing. In 2012, 27% of marketing budgets will be allocated to direct mail.
The embodiments herein offer reverse auctioning tools for print procurement, which allow print vendors to generate savings for customers by selecting and awarding print jobs to supply vendors who offer lowest pricing and optimum production methods, based upon contractual rates (and capability) submitted by the supply vendors. By including direct mail in the total print volume they procure, print vendors will be able to increase the savings they can offer to their customers. Also, by allowing print procurement potentially without rate cards, print vendors will have the option of working with supply vendors who do not want to submit or negotiate direct mail pricing through rate cards.
More specifically, embodiments herein include a machine-implemented method that receives job specifications for at least one direct mail printing job from at least one user using a computerized or processor-based machine. The machine automatically creates at least one workflow related to the direct mail printing job. Each of the workflows comprise at least one job activity.
The machine automatically transmits these job activities to entities (e.g., supply vendors) to allow the entities to bid on performing the job activities. In response, the machine will receive bids on the job activities from the entities.
The machine automatically identifies the lowest price (cost) bids for each activity (on an individual job activity-by job activity basis) from the bids received from the entities and/or previously established rate cards of the entities. The machine automatically outputs the lowest bids to the user. While this output of the lowest bids indicates which the vendor can perform the workflow at the lowest cost, it also requires each vendor to break their bid down into each of the individual activities of the workflow. This provides the user with information of the actual workflow activity prices bid by each of the vendors and allows the user to understand why one vendor may be bidding at a different price for the direct mail printing job when compared to a different vendor. With such information, the user may be able to engage in additional price negotiation with vendors who have workflow activities that are priced out of line with other vendors. This can allow the user to reduce the overall price paid for a specific direct mail printing job or may allow the user to select a more preferred vendor by having the preferred vendor merely reduce a bid price for a specific activity within the workflow to allow the preferred vendor to ultimately have the lowest overall bid for the entire direct mail printing job.
Therefore, the embodiments herein can also receive workflow modification input from the user in response to the activity bids output to the user. The embodiments herein will then modify the workflow according to the workflow modification input and repeat the transmitting of requests for bids, the receiving of the bids, and the outputting of the lowest bids through at least one iteration.
Once all the negotiation and revisions are complete, the method receives, through the computerized machine, an identification of a single selected entity to perform all activities within the workflow from the user. The embodiments herein perform the workflow by instructing the selected entity to perform the direct mail printing job and thereby provide output to, or for, the user.
The workflow comprises at least one of form workflow, list processing workflow, personalization workflow, open item workflow, etc. The list processing workflow and the personalization workflow have multiple components as part of the job specifications. The list processing workflow has lists of direct mail recipients to process. The personalization workflow has at least one personalization, mail preparation, and finishing components.
More specifically, regarding each of the individual and job activities within each of the workflows, the form workflow comprise prepress activities, press activities, inline operation activities, ink supply activities, paper supply activities, etc. The list processing workflow comprise of list processing setup activities, file preparation activities, file manipulation activities, postal pre-sorting activities, suppression activities, processing and output activities, custom programming activities, electronic output activities, etc. The personalization workflow comprise of personalization preparation activities, image digitalization activities, text preparation activities, personalization proofing activities, ink jet imaging activities, laser imaging activities, scitex imaging activities, burst/trim/folding activities, inserting activities, stacking activities, card affixing activities, cut sheet folding activities, cut sheet trimming activities, gluing activities, die cutting activities, die manufacture activities, match mailing activities, packed proofing activities, labeling activities, mailing security activities, spoils recovery activities, sorting activities, postage affixing activities, electronic production (EPRO) activities, etc. The open item workflow comprises of digital print activities, commercial print activities, envelope activities, label activities, custom activities, etc. With embodiments herein, bids are received for each of the foregoing activities on an individual job activity-by job activity basis from among all of the foregoing activities.
Apparatus embodiments herein include a computer storage media storing instructions and a processor operatively connected to the computer storage media, which performs the instructions. In addition, a graphic user interface, input-output, etc., is/are operatively connected to the processor. The graphic user interface and/or input-output receives job specifications for at least one direct mail printing job from at least one user.
The processor automatically creates at least one workflow related to the direct mail printing job. Again, each of the workflow comprises at least one job activity. The input-output automatically transmits requests for bids on the job activities to entities to allow the entities to bid on performing the job activities, and the input-output receives bids on the job activities from the entities. The graphic user interface can receive user bid selection and/or the processor can automatically select winning bids on an individual job activity-by job activity basis from the bids received from the entities and/or previously established rate cards of the entities.
The processor automatically identifies the lowest price (cost) bids for each activity (on an individual job activity-by job activity basis) from the bids received from the entities and/or previously established rate cards of the entities. The graphic user interface automatically outputs the lowest bids to the user. The graphic user interface can also receive workflow modification input from the user in response to the activity bids output to the user. The processor will then modify the workflow according to the workflow modification input and repeat the transmitting of requests for bids, the receiving of the bids, and the outputting of the lowest bids through at least one iteration.
Once all the negotiation and revisions are complete, the method receives, through the graphic user interface, an identification of a single selected entity to perform all activities within the workflow from the user. The embodiments herein perform the workflow by instructing the selected entity to perform the direct mail printing job and thereby provide output to, or for, the user. Thus, the processor performs the workflow to output, through the input-output, the direct-mail printing job within the campaign.
These and other features are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description.